Symptoms of an embolism

The symptoms of an embolism depend on the particular type of embolism involved.

The main symptoms of a stroke are drooping of the face, weakness or numbness in one arm, and slurred speech or an inability to talk at all.

Dial 999 immediately to ask for an ambulance if you suspect that you or someone else is having a stroke.

If you have a pulmonary embolism you'll have a sharp or stabbing chest pain that starts suddenly or comes on gradually. Shortness of breath, a cough and feeling faint or dizzy, or passing out are also common symptoms.

Fat

A fracture to a long bone, such as a thigh bone, can lead to fat particles within the bone being released into the bloodstream. Fat particles can also sometimes develop following severe burns or as a complication of bone surgery.

Air

Embolisms can also occur if air bubbles or other gases enter the bloodstream.

Air embolisms are a particular concern for scuba divers. If a diver swims to the surface too quickly, the change in pressure can cause nitrogen bubbles to form in their bloodstream and become trapped in a blood vessel. This blockage can cause decompression sickness, which is often referred to as "the bends".

Cholesterol

In people with severe atherosclerosis (narrowed arteries caused by a build-up of cholesterol), small pieces of cholesterol can sometimes break away from the side of a blood vessel, resulting in an embolism.

Amniotic fluid

In rare cases, amniotic fluid – which surrounds and protects a baby inside the womb – can leak into the mother's blood vessels during labour, causing a blockage. This can lead to breathing problems, a drop in blood pressure and loss of consciousness.

Treating embolisms

How an embolism is treated will depend on:

what caused the blockage

the size of the blockage

where the blockage is in the body

A surgical procedure called an embolectomy is sometimes carried out to remove an obstruction. During the operation, the surgeon makes a cut in the affected artery so that the foreign body causing the blockage can be sucked out in a process known as aspiration.

Embolisms caused by air bubbles are usually treated in a hyperbaric chamber. The air pressure inside the chamber is higher than the normal air pressure outside, which helps reduce the size of the air bubbles inside the diver's body.

Preventing embolisms

It isn't always possible to prevent embolisms, but there are things you can do to significantly reduce your risk. For example, you can: